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Michael D. Peabody

Michael D. Peabody is an attorney in Los Angeles, California. He has practiced in the fields of workers compensation and employment law, including workplace discrimination and wrongful termination. He is a frequent contributor to Liberty magazine and editsReligiousLiberty.TV, an independent website dedicated to celebrating liberty of conscience. Mr. Peabody is a favorite guest on Liberty’s weekly radio show, “Lifequest Liberty.”

Discussions

The threat to Americans is the encroachment of laws, such as the NDAA which could allow innocent citizens to be tagged as terrorists, be stripped of Constitutional rights such as a speedy trial, and be thrown into prison indefinitely without opportunity to be represented by attorneys or to appeal their cases.

Arguing against same-sex marriage in a legal manner in the courts is very difficult, as seen in the Proposition 8 Federal trial in California where opponents of the ban presented 8 witnesses and the proponents presented only 2, both of whom had previously publicly stated arguments in opposition to their testimony on the stand. Further, and more importantly, bans on same-sex marriage are difficult to defend without sucking other rights into the vortex.

The current situation appears to be driven by protesters’ concerns over economic insecurity even more so than a religious dispute, although the society that is forged in these fires will have elements of economics, culture, and faith shaped by centuries of Egyptian history.

As it now stands, churches and charities are welcome to speak truth to power on the issues that matter - from opposing human trafficking, to lobbying for workplace accommodation for religious employees, to pursuing justice. Religious organizations just cannot support or oppose particular candidates or political parties. This is a good thing.

The USCIRF should be continued – it has an important function as a monitor of international religious freedom, but as long as the State Department is also engaged in its fundamental duty of protecting the interests of the United States above those of any other nation, it will not be able to fulfill its complete charter of recommending direct action against hostile countries without facing a great deal of suspicion of either diplomatic or religious mission.

The proposal of the European Sunday Alliance presents several problems - instead of recognizing liberty of conscience in these issues, it would rely on the majority opinion that Sunday is the appropriate day of rest to shut down Sunday commerce and in the process would ignore and marginalize the rights of those who observe a different day.

It is not inconceivable that a precedent such as that created by an opposite to the Phelps decision would institute a firestorm of lawsuits against houses of worship across America, by money hungry "offended" plaintiffs seeking millions of dollars from the supposed deep pockets of denominations, and drown congregations in legal fees.

Amid all the activity of a turbulent year, many missed the March 3, 2005, filing of the Constitution Restoration Act of 2005 (CRA) in both houses of Congress (S. 520 and H.R. 1070). If enacted, the CRA would effectively turn the United States into a theoc